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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Ngari Gunsa Airport
Ali Kunsha Airport, also called Ngari Günsa Airport, (IATA: NGQ, ICAO: ZUAL), also known as Shiquanhe Airport is a dual-use military and civil airport serving the town of Shiquanhe in Ngari Prefecture, between Gar Chongsar and Sogmai, Günsa Township, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region. It started operations on 1 July 2010, becoming the fourth civil airport in Tibet after Lhasa, Nyingchi, and Qamdo airports.

Situated at 4,274 m (14,022 ft) above sea level, Gunsa Airport is the fourth highest airport in the world after Daocheng Yading Airport, Qamdo Bamda Airport, and Kangding Airport. Gunsa airport has a 4,500-meter runway. It is expected to handle 120,000 passengers by 2020. Construction began in May 2007 and cost an estimated 1.65 billion yuan (241.22 million U.S. dollars).

As Shiquanhe (Ali) is only a one-day bus drive (about 330 km) from the settlement of Darchen situated just north of Lake Manasarovar, facing Mount Kailash, it is expected to benefit pilgrims to these two sites, which are considered sacred by Hindus, Buddhists, Bonpa and Jains. With the opening of Shigatse Peace Airport in October 2010, the five airports, coupled with the Qinghai–Tibet railway and a network of roads, are expected to increase tourism to scenic and holy sites in Tibet.

Military buildup

Since the last major standoff between China and India at Doklam in 2017 military presence at the Ngari Gunsa Airport has been expanded with Shenyang J-16s and J-11s fighter jets stationed. The airport is 200 kilometres from Pangong Tso, Ladakh.

Airlines and destinations

AirlinesDestinations
China Eastern Airlines Kashgar, Xi'an
Lucky Air Kashgar, Ürümqi
Tibet Airlines Lhasa, Shache, Xining

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ 阿里昆莎机场 Archived 2012-04-04 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Tibet's fourth civil airport opens Archived 2010-12-14 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ The world’s third highest airport opens with milestone Airbus A319 flight Archived 2014-12-04 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ 西藏阿里昆莎机场迎来首航 为世界海拔第三高
  5. ^ Mayhew and Kohn (2005), p. 209.
  6. ^ "Pilgrims to benefit from new Tibet Airport near Mt Kailash."
  7. ^ Albinia (2008), p. 288,
  8. ^ Gyurme (199), p. 36.
  9. ^ Chan, Minnie (2020-06-04). "China flexing military muscle in border dispute with India". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
  10. ^ "China starts construction activities near Pangong Lake amid border tensions with India". Business Today. 27 May 2020. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
  11. ^ "航线动态｜西宁-莎车-阿里新航线开通". Retrieved 30 September 2024.

References

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